The 30th Session BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India & China) Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change hosted by India took place virtually on April 7-8, 2021. The meeting was chaired by Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- The group urged developed countries to revisit their climate change mitigation targets under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.
- It also urged the developed countries to fulfil their commitments of providing support to developing countries.
- The meeting was attended by the Environment Ministers of all 4 countries.
BASIC Countries
- The group was established as a result of an agreement signed by the Four Countries – Brazil, South Africa, India & China in 2009.
- The signing was held during the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit) held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- The main motive of the group is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions & raise massive funds which are needed to fight climate change.
Key Points
i.During the meeting, the member countries highlighted the initiatives taken by them to curb climate change.
ii.India also highlighted the initiatives taken by it to curb climate change,
- India has already achieved its pre-2020 voluntary target with a reduction of 24% in emission intensity of GDP in 2016 as compared to 2005 levels.
- The installed capacity of Solar Energy in India has increased by more than 14 times between 2014 to 2020.
- In 2021, India announced a National Hydrogen Energy Mission for the generation of hydrogen from green power sources.
- India’s forest & tree cover stayed at around 15% of total CO2 emissions in 2016.
- India has set a target of achieving 175 GigaWatts renewable energy capacity by 2022 & 450 GigaWatts by 2030.
iii.The Countries urged Developed nations to present a clear roadmap on their existing obligations to mobilise USD 100 Billion per year from 2021 to 2025.
- It also urged them to initiate the process of setting the new collective quantified goal on finance in future.
iv.South Africa offered to host the 31st BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change in 2022.
Fact
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, the United Kingdom from November 1-12, 2021.
Additional Info:
The Meeting was held when, European Union(EU) is toying with the idea of ‘Carbon Border Tax’ as part of its green push, but the BASIC nations have jointly opposed the move stating such trade barrier would not only be discriminatory but also against the principles of equity under the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Recent Related News:
i.July 8, 2020, The 4th edition of the international meeting named “Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA)” was held on July 7, 2020, which was co-chaired by European Union (EU), China and Canada.
About BASIC:
BASIC Stands for Brazil, South Africa, India & China
Established year – 2009
